111 Falling Petals
by MidnightSchemer13
Summary: Damned by Maleficent to spend all of eternity as a Nobody unless able to complete three impossible tasks, Marluxia gives up all hope for salvation until into his dominion a young girl wanders in...
1. Chapter 1

**IMPORTANT** **A/N: Hey, everyone :) If you haven't already seen the note in _The Rose Labyrinth_, and you're too lazy to go there now (laziness is okay! **(sometimes)** I'm lazy, too ^^ ), I shall restate my present case:**

**No, my computer is not fixed yet, and all incomplete stories will probably stay that way _until December_, and that's the very latest. BETA projects are still underway, but I type on my iTouch and library computers, so don't expect the best quality yet :/ (If it really sucks, I'll rewrite it when I get the chance! :3 )**

**But I _just couldn't _miss 11/11/11, Marluxia Day! (Odds are, I probably won't want to miss 12/12/12, Larxene Day, either. I'm just sad that I missed Zexion Day (6/6/06), but it's alright, since, after all, it comes once a year!) So that's why I've been typing, typing, typing (on that itty bitty little scratched-up, beloved screen) stories just for today, and I really do hope you enjoy them. **

**Standard Disclaimers Apply **(honestly, though, isn't it a given? Everyone knows we. don't. Own. Lol)

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><p>Once, a long, long time ago, when Nobodies were still visible even to blasphemous human eyes, and magic was still practiced openly, there was a secluded kingdom deep in the heart of a forbidden forest, where the darkest of creatures were known to lurk. There was a large city around the impressive castle, where dwelt a young prince and his loyal subjects. Although he had everything his heart desired, he was spoiled, selfish, and unkind, as well as the most beautiful man in the land.<p>

Many people (both men and women) from foreign kingdoms braved the single clear path through the forest to attempt to win the heart of the handsome prince, but none succeeded for long; for while the prince was very fickle, manipulative, and deceptive, he was also very clever. He would claim a lover and have them court him, accepting their expensive gifts and oaths of love, then he would pull the strings backstage and tangle the unwary fools into traps, tricking them into becoming his puppets.

Though, soon, he grew bored of his game and switched to a new one: he led hopeful suitors on, and would then spurn them away, banishing them from his sight. It wasn't quite as entertaining as the last one, but it was much more amusing to see the pain on their faces; for what did he care for foreign, lovesick fools?

But one victim of his cruel game, who had suffered heartbreak at the devious prince's actions, was truly an alchemist, with knowledge deep in the lore of sorcery. Though he had fallen into the deepest of depressions, he still thirsted for vengeance, and so, using the last of his strength, he summoned an evil faerie, and gave his heart to her in exchange for revenge against the prince. The faerie's name was Maleficent, and she was a sorceress of awesome and frightening power. She agreed to the bargain, and watched as he hung himself, before taking his heart and transforming herself into a hideous beggar woman. She then summoned a dark portal, rather than make her way through the treacherous wood to the prince's city, and transported herself to the door of the prince's castle.

It was a gloomy and rainy winter's night when she arrived at the palace. Thrice she knocked on the fortified door, and thrice no one answered, deaf to her knocks because of the thunder, but by chance or fate, on the fourth knock, the prince emerged from his rooms, and opened the door.

The old beggar woman offered the prince a single, whithered black rose she had conjured from thin air moments before in exchange for shelter from the sleet and bitter cold, likening its petals to his long, pink tresses. Repulsed by her haggard appearance and insulted by her comment, the prince sneered at the gift and turned her away.

He did not see her malicious smirk, and ignored her when she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for some things are not at all what they seemed, and beauty was found within.

Irked by her impudence, the prince dismissed her again, and attempted to close the door on her, when suddenly, she transformed from her hideous guise into her true form; a black cape, pale-green skin, horns, and all.

The prince recognized the sorceress and ordered his guards to attack her, for she was known to be a powerful and dangerous witch, but she struck them down with ease. He realized his mistake, and tried to appease the evil faerie, but it was too late. She saw the truth in the alchemist's words, on how there was no love in his heart, and as punishment, stole his heart away; for if he had no love to give, what good would a heart do him?

She cast a horrible, powerful spell on his entire kingdom, stripping every one of his loyal subjects of their hearts, and transforming them into Heartless and beasts; but some had such powerful wills that they managed to escape the worst of it and only become Nobodies.

The castle was transformed as well, from a luxurious palace of light to a dark, gothic, and formidable fortress with twisted figures and corrupted beauty.

The prince's transformation Maleficent saved for last, and slowly, oh so slowly, she extracted his heart, torturing him with pain, until at last he collapsed to the stone floor from exhaustion, throat raw from yelling. She watched every writhe with a sadistic smile, and every expression of agony with a barely suppressed smirk; when his heart was at last hers, she took it and absorbed it into the rose, changing it from a black, whithered one into a bright obsidian blossom, in full-bloom with beautiful petals.

Tossing the flower at the fallen, furious prince, she slyly remarked how the colour of the rose reflected his cruel, black heart, and, cackling, she disappeared into the night sky, laughing at the newly-created Nobody's curses.

Ashamed of his new form, the prince concealed himself inside his castle, and destroyed every displayed painting of him there was, to be rid of reminders of his past self. With only a magic mirror as his single window to the outside world, he withdrew entirely from the world, blocking off his kingdom from the others so that none may look upon him. His subjects watched as his form changed daily, sometimes nearing that of a Dusk, then becoming more and more humanoid, then back to a grotesque shape of a low-ranking Nobody.

The rose Maleficent had given him, he kept, for, as it was truly an enchanted rose that would bloom until his thirty-first year, it held the key to undoing the terrible curse: if he could truly learn to love another, even without a heart, and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the curse would be undone. If not, his heart would never return, and he would be doomed to remain a Nobody for all time. As Maleficent had bewitched the time there to pass slower than the rest of the world, the prince would feel the torture and pain of eternity longer.

As years passed, the prince fell into despair, and lost all hope, for without a heart, he could never complete the terms of the curse; and besides, who could ever learn to love a Nobody?

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><p><strong>AN: ****Sorry if the prologue's a bit boring. It should get better :D**

**Mwahaha. Am I _ever _so evil for flooding your inboxes ;) I love you all! Extra thanks to those who leave a review; even if it's only six words! (**i.e. I'm so excited! Please update! **or something~)**

***I noticed a bit late that I kept saying that the prince had "suitors". Just pretend, alright? ^^; Men and women, there. He's bisexual. (Plus, I dunno what a female version of "Suitor" is)**

**If you have anything against that... don't be rude about it, alright? :)**

**And besides, the rest of this story will only have het! pairings. **

****Yes, some of this prologue is inspired by the myth of Narcissus and Echo (but mostly Narcissus)**

*****Yes, I used "castle" and "palace" interchangeably. I know the difference, as I've visited countless castles and palaces, but that's all right, aye? Because, after all, it's just a story.**


	2. Chapter 2

Dawn broke through the cover of night, reclaiming the sky with rays of soft, warm light, painting the clouds a faint pink and gold. The pale moon was still visible, high in the heavens, but slowly began fading away, out-shined by the daybreak. Birds chirped gaily to welcome the sunrise, and small, crystal drops of dew glittered in the grass, reflecting the morning glow. A gentle breeze danced through the air, winding through the branches of the tall, spring trees, brushing the young leaves and new branches in its path, and making its way towards a rather small house sitting a little ways from the town nearby, only connected to each other by a single cobblestone path that led straight from the outskirts of town to the front door of the humble abode. The playful wind began climbing higher into the sky, as though trying to compete with the sun.

The sun rose quickly, not noticing the stray breeze, eager to begin another day, when the warmth of morning suddenly surrendered to an abrupt, harsh, and cold gust of wind, immediately silencing the birds and leaves alike. A single spot on the ground, not too far from the well of the house, darkened to midnight black, and began frothing sluggishly, emitting obsidian tendrils of a smoke-like substance. Forms, some humanoid, most monstrous, writhed in the steadily speeding swirls of black fog, and, after a moment, three small children-shaped beings untangled themselves from the darkness, and emerged onto the dewy grass.

Their skin was as black as mold, and their eyes were an eerie citrine hue. Their blank faces were expressionless, and their limbs were horribly twisted, a grotesque, distorted copy of a child's body. They had no visible hair, only two strangely shaped strands protruding from their heads.

Linking fingerless hands silently, they began walking slowly, fluidly, onto the grass, with the first _thing _taking care not to walk on any flowers, and the other two only walking in the first one's footsteps. Each footfall instantly withered the grass beneath, sucking the life out of it until only a brown, crackly patch was left. They continued walking so, single file, until just before they reached the stone path, the youngest form, last in line, turned to look back at the single blemish on the otherwise beautiful and still landscape. The seething darkness had quieted to a murmur, with coils of black smoke still rising out, but the youngest black form continued to stare back. It was only after a remindful yank from the first and second beings did the youngest turn back around and continue walking.

Stepping onto the cobblestone path, they released hands, and fell into the ground, only becoming figureless shadows. Quickly, they moved, as fluidly as fish in water, and began making their way towards the town.

The outskirts of the town were only defined by a waist-high stone fence, for there was no fear of enemies or war in the kingdom, not for a hundred years. The three shadow-spots quickly passed over them, entering the town, and rose back out of the stone-paved street, reassuming the shape of malformed children. Silently giggling, they ran in opposite directions, peeping through keyholes and underneath doors of the still-sleeping town. They only searched the row of houses closest to the path to the house, and finished within ten minutes. The first returned with a necklace of jade beads and a basket of apples; the second held in their fist a glass slipper; and the third held in its arms a motionless, seemingly sleeping baby, swaddled in an old blanket. They looked at each other with their never-changing impassive faces once before walking in their odd way out of the open, doorless gate entrance in the wall.

However, instead of returning to the circular, frothing abyss as was the original plan, the tallest child-like creature motioned for the other two to follow it, as it made its way across the cobblestone path to the small house. The middle being let out a scratchy hiss, but followed the leader after no response came. They half-scurried, half-glided over to the simple dwelling, fast and fluid, and stopped at the front door. A doormat blocked the crack underneath the door, and there was no keyhole for the three to peek inside with.

Undaunted, they soundlessly piled their loot off to the side of the six weathered stairs leading to the entrance, and absorbed themselves into the ground, using their forms to climb the ivy-vines crawling up the side of the house, and enter the single open window on the second floor.

The white curtains fluttered with their entrance.

Reemerging as children once more, the three beings explored the simple room with unveiled curiosity; taking care not to touch anything, they examined with wide, amber eyes every drawing hung on the wall, every trinket on the pair of desks, every article of clothing in the large closet, and every other object that looked even remotely made by humans.

A soft, steady rhythm of human breathing caught their attention. In a white bed in the corner, one of the two in the room, lay the sleeping figure of a human girl, shivering slightly from the bitter chill, and silky golden hair shining in the cold light. Creeping closer, they reached out their black, fingerless hands hesitantly, almost touching the sleeping form, when-

"_Naminé!_"

-a sudden, gruff voice of a man startled them, causing them to whirl around in surprised fright.

"Naminé_?_" Footsteps ascending the wooden stairs could be heard through the door, rising slightly in volume as they neared. Immediately, the three scrambled out of the room and down the wall just as the door opened, narrowly avoiding the gaze of a tall, blond man, who strode into the room, a mixed expression on his face: a sort of exasperated frown, but with hints of a smile within.

"Naminé Clair de Lune Foudre, answer me when I call for you!" The youngest creature peeked its head just above the windowsill, its curiosity overriding its fear. It watched with sulfur-shaded eyes as the man walked over to the sleeping human he had addressed as "Naminé", leaning over and gently shaking the sleeper awake. The girl halfheartedly swatted the man's hand away, and hid her head underneath the downy feather pillow.

The man heaved an exaggerated sigh, and grinned mischievously, proceeding to tickle the fair-haired youth awake. Shrieking with laughter (causing the black creature to flinch), she tumbled out of bed, tangled in the sheets and giggling breathlessly. A girl with bright blue eyes looked up at the man, whose grin faltered into a grimace. Rubbing his temples, he shook his head exasperatedly, his sudden good mood all but gone.

"Alice, _what _are you doing in your sister's bed?" Alice ducked her head a little and grinned sheepishly.

"We switched sides for the month," she said sweetly. The man groaned into his hands, and sighed.

"Do you know where she is?" he asked wearily, as though he already knew the answer; one he did not like. Alice shook her head.

"No." Apologetically, she reached over and hugged the taller blond's legs, unable to stand as she was still tangled within the blankets. "I'm sorry, Cid." The blond rolled his eyes and ran a large hand through through his slightly spiked, fair hair.

"It's alright. Just... just get dressed and take care of Naminé's chores for her until I find her. And _why _is your room so cold?" he asked suddenly, and walked over to the window to close it. The black child-like creature immediately dropped to the ground, rejoining the two others (who had waited for it), and they hurriedly picked up their treasures and half-scurried, half-glided over to the writhing, shapeless darkness.

Quickly, they entered and melted inside, slowing the seething tendrils' escape, and quieting the froth; then, the earth swallowed up the portal, leaving no indication of it ever being there except for a slight scent of burnt flesh and apples lingering in the area it occupied, and a trail of brown footsteps in the dewy grass.

As Cid closed the window in the second story of the house, warmth returned to the atmosphere, and the sun resumed its climb into the sky, waking up the citizens of Twilight Town.

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><p>In an old, paint-splattered shed deep in the forests behind the house sat a tan duffel bag, belonging to none other than Naminé Clair de Lune Foudre, the very person Cid was calling for, and who was currently sitting cross-legged on top of the slightly slanted roof of the shed, drawing out the elegant shape of a Dragoon in her sketchbook. Its lithe, purple and silver body had curled itself up into a ball, and the Nobody was currently watching the girl with golden hair sketch it out with nearly eerie accuracy. Its silver wings, sharp and pointed, were lowered, as was its lance, leaving it in a very vulnerable state, showing its absolute trust in the artist.<p>

"Almost... done..." she murmured soothingly, just sticking her tongue out of her mouth in concentration. Not ten seconds later, she grinned widely, and turned the book around to show the Dragoon her picture. "There! Finished! Do you like it?"

The Dragoon snapped its grey jaws at the paper playfully, and nuzzled the artist's outstretched hand. She giggled softly.

"I'm glad you do," she said, and closed the art book, sticking her pencil into the coiled spine. Scratching it behind its ears, she swung her legs over and out from underneath her, and slid down the roof to the damp, forest floor. The soil was soft and loose underneath her bare feet, and she could feel little spiders scuttling across her toes.

Taking care not to tread on the fragile arachnids, she entered the shed and dropped her sketchbook into her open duffel bag. Hooking her long, blonde hair behind her right ear, she glanced up at the large canvas stretched upon the handmade iron easel. It was a painting of the ocean sunset, with a single glass bottle, carrying a letter within, floating out to sea. She had been working on it for a week now, and deemed it ready to sell.

Crouching down to her bag, Naminé rummaged through the spare clothes, art supplies, sponges, candies, and paper bags of raw meat for a satchel of charcoal. Finding it, she opened the drawstrings and took out a particularly large lump of the burned wood, and turned to the easel. In the lower right-hand corner of the magnificent oil painting, she scrawled her full name onto the canvas.

_Naminé Clair de Lune Foudre,__ H__éritière__ des Manoir Oblivion _

She smiled at her imaginary title. The Nobodies she regularly kept company with mentioned the name of Castle Oblivion to her sometimes in their odd speech, but she knew little of it and assumed that it was a legend to them. Though she supposed it _was _a little arrogant to take such a title for herself, the Nobodies had only chuckled and clicked when she first suggested signing her work with it, so she was alright with it.

A young Dragoon, not the one she had drawn, flew up behind her and rested its jaw on her shoulder, and made a _khrraay_-ing sound, one it would not make as an adult. Naminé smiled, and petted it on the head.

"I should get to town soon; Setzer should have opened shop by now..." A Knight Head, sitting on her bag, clicked seven times, then three times, and finally six times. Naminé whirled around, surprised.

"It's already 7:36? Oh my gosh, I need to leave! Thank you!" she said, and scooped up the Knight Head in her hands, kissing it lightly once, before setting it down on the ground and slinging her bag over her shoulder. Unhooking the large canvas from the easel, the blonde rolled up the painting delicately, tying it off with a pink ribbon found amid the junk and spare parts strewn about on the floor. "'Bye!"

With a final wave, Naminé jogged out of the shed and through the forest for a few minutes, until at last she was past the large field of grass in front of her house. On the cobblestone path now, she smiled nervously and ran her hand through her hair, before noticing how unkempt she looked, with grass- and dirt-stains on her white shirt and tan shorts.

_Great_, she thought, _All I need now is for Seifer and his crew to see me_. Thinking quickly, she snapped her fingers and smiled as she thought of a solution. Crawling stealthily behind the wall, she made her way to a house with star-shaped wind-chimes hanging from the back window, and climbed up, using the windowsills and balcony for support. Having done this trice before, she managed to hoist herself up onto the balcony nearly soundlessly. Knocking on the glass window, she whispered the occupant's name.

"_Kairi!_"

A girl inside, with dark reddish hair the same length as hers, jumped at the noise, and stared, wide-eyed, at Naminé. Rushing over, she opened the window and helped the blonde artist stumble in.

"What were you doing this early? Look at you! You're all _dirty_," said Kairi, half amused, half disgusted. Naminé grinned.

"Good morning to you, too. May I borrow your shower for about ten minutes?" Kairi smiled and crossed her arms.

"I'd give you an hour if I thought it'd help." Her friend pretended to scowl at her, but hugged her briefly in thanks.

"I've no doubt," she said with a smile, before taking her duffel bag with her into the adjacent bathroom and closing the door. Kairi sighed and sat back down onto her bed, reaching to pick up the book she had dropped in surprise, when Naminé's scrolled-up painting caught her eye. Untying the ribbon and opening it, she gasped as she saw her masterpiece. It looked very realistic; almost like a memory. The red-haired girl glanced at the signature in the corner and rolled her eyes.

_Naminé Clair de Lune Foudre, Heiress of Castle Oblivion_

"This is the one you're going to sell?" she asked over the sound of water. Naminé nodded, and, realizing Kairi couldn't see her, called back an affirmative. "It looks nice!"

A moment later, the artist walked out of the bathroom, accompanied by clouds of billowing steam, wearing an opaque, white dress with thin straps for her shoulders and lace underneath. Her cheeks were a rosy pink, and her hair was combed neatly, draping gracefully over her shoulders instead of merely hanging there. Her dirtied clothes could just be seen in the tan bag slung over her shoulder.

"Thanks!" she said with a shy smile. Kairi smiled back, but then shook her head.

"What's with 'Heiress of Castle Oblivion'? Why'd you sign it like that again?" Naminé shrugged, twirling around once.

"I like the sound of it," she said in her soft voice, her tone full of innocent mischief. Kairi merely sighed and plopped herself down onto her bed. It annoyed her to no end that her best friend was so _eccentric _and _odd_. While Naminé was a wonderful person, kind, sweet, and a brilliant artist, she had the blessing and curse of a wild imagination. She would pretend that Nobodies were real, and that she could and would actually talk to them, and that Castle Oblivion truly existed. It was only because of her personality and actions (as well as being the governor's daughter's best friend) that the town citizens would talk to her and respect her. Because, as everyone knew, Nobodies, Castle Oblivion, and magic were all ever only just another element of a faerie tale.

"Honestly, Naminé, you're so _weird_. If you'd just stop pretending Nobodies existed, and quit pretending you lived in a faerie tale, maybe you'd have a boyfriend." Naminé rolled her eyes and picked up the painting.

"Who needs a boyfriend? I don't." Kairi grinned, glancing at her perfectly shaped nails.

"Sora's got his eye on you, as well as Riku..." she commented off-handedly, watching the artist from out of the corner of her eye. Naminé shrugged.

"Well _Sora_'s got to get through the Nobodies first to get me, and Riku'll have to climb to the highest room in the tallest tower of Castle Oblivion," she smiled. Kairi groaned.

"See? That's what I mean by weird. Nobodies. Faerie tales. Castle Oblivion. Why do you always make things up? You _always_ do."

Naminé folded her hands and stood, ready to leave, and tilted her head to the side, sighing.

"I never said I didn't."

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><p>It was already past eight o'clock when Naminé left Kairi's house, painting in hand, to go to Setzer Gabbiani's collector's shop in the end of the Market Street of Twilight Town. Humming softly to herself an old tune the Dancers had taught her, she strode through the busy morning crowds, politely greeting those who greeted her, and ignoring the less polite citizens who whispered about her behind her back. They were merely simple, ignorant people; it didn't matter to her. She watched as the baker walked around, selling rolls of bread on a metal tray to people passing by; though they tasted good, they were the same breads every day, and she had soon grown tired of it.<p>

"Look, there she goes..."

"That girl is strange, no question."

"Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?"

"It's a pity and a sin, she doesn't quite fit in, because she really is a funny, odd young girl."

Holding her head up high, Naminé tuned out the voices of the gossipy women, and continued weaving her way through the crowds.

"Now it's no wonder that boys call her 'Beauty'; her looks have got no parallel!"

"But she's never part of any crowd," whispered a woman.

"Her head's always up on some cloud," agreed her friend. "There's no denying she's a funny girl."

Finally, Naminé managed to reach the small store Setzer owned and opened the door; a tiny silver bell attached to the door rang sweetly as she entered. A tall man with silvery hair, though he was no older than thirty, turned around to face her, and smiled widely.

"Ah, Naminé! Good morning," he greeted with a flourish of his hand, the lilac silk of his shirt fluttering slightly from the movement. Naminé smiled, forgetting the gossip.

"Good morning, Setzer," she curtsied slightly. "I have the painting." She held it out to him. Taking it, he undid the pink ribbon and gasped upon viewing the painting.

"Oh, this is splendid! Wonderful, wonderful work once again, Naminé. I'll give you... 800 munny for it. It's only fair."

"2000," argued Naminé with laugh. She loved negotiating the prices of her works.

"1000."

"1800."

"1500, and that's my final offer."

"Done!" She accepted the gold diamonds and poured them into another satchel, stashing it in her bag. Setzer gave her an exaggerated sigh.

"I paid you much more than I should have, but I don't mind. After all, I'm such a nice person like that."

"You say that every time!"

"Only because it's so true." He smiled at her. "Now out. Don't waste a perfectly good day like this by staying inside," he advised with a wink. Naminé curtsied once more and left the shop, passing by the crowd of curious townspeople.

"Look, there she goes, that girl is so peculiar!"

"I wonder if she's feeling well..."

"With a dreamy, far off look, always drawing in some book-"

"What a puzzle to all of us is that odd girl."

She walked over to the city square's fountain, and sat down, trailing her fingers in the water. A tiny Screwdriver Heartless popped up by her finger, and she smiled at it, cupping it in her two hands and talking to it.

"Oh, isn't it amazing? I've almost got enough munny; then, I can run away to another world to find my destiny..." Sighing wistfully, Naminé replaced the Screwdriver into the water, and walked off into the crowd, perhaps to go buy ice cream as a snack. As soon as she was gone, however, a beam of light shot at the Screwdriver, evaporating it instantly. Two teenaged boys, each a year older than Naminé, high-fived each other for their perfect shot. The shorter one had aerodynamically spiked, chocolate locks, while the other had long, silver hair, which, paired with his startlingly aquamarine eyes, caught the glance of any who looked at him.

"Awesome shot, Riku!" the brunet said, grinning cheerfully. Riku shrugged and nodded.

"Thanks, Sora, but we've already had so much practice, it was easy, actually." They watched as Naminé disappeared into the crowd again, and sheathed their Keybades.

"Right from the moment that I met her, saw her, I said she's gorgeous and I fell..." remembered Sora.

"For here in town there's only she, who's as beautiful as me, so I'm making plans to ask out that strange girl." Unconsciously, Riku ran his hand through his hair, as though making sure it was still silky and beautiful, but while doing so, lost sight of Naminé, as did Sora. 

Meanwhile, the blonde artist was wandering around town, looking for something new to draw, and sat down on a wooden bench near the doorless gate entrance in the wall, deciding to sketch out her Nobody friends from memory. Sitting cross-legged, she managed to finish outlining Dancers, Dragoons, Snipers, Spiders, and Knight Heads, when into her line of vision intruded four pairs of feet.

"Well, well, well," drawled a cold voice; immediately Naminé stiffened, and set down her pencil, slowly looking up. "What have we here?"

"Good morning, Seifer," Naminé greeted cautiously. The handsome teen's good looks hid the cruel personality beneath quite well. "Good morning, Fuu, Rai, Vivi," she said also to the others, each flanking the blond. Fuu, a girl with lilac-silver hair, glared at her silently, while Rai, a muscled boy, looked down at her, crossing his arms with a mean smile.

"Hey, look! It's the Nobody Girl, y'know?"

"Hey, Naminé, see any Nobodies today?" Vivi, a small, dark boy, chirped, grinning. Naminé rolled her eyes and went back to her drawing, when Seifer snatched her sketchpad from her hands.

"Hey-!" Attempting to grab it back, Naminé glared at the blond as he held it up over her head, just out of her reach.

"You read too many faerie tales, Naminé," he said softly, barely concealing a sneer. "Nobodies don't exist."

"Yes, they do!" She knew she was walking straight into his traps, but Naminé felt it only right that she defended what few friends she had. Seifer clucked his tongue.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So rude, talking back to your superiors. Didn't your mother ever teach you better? Oh. Wait," he said, with a malicious grin. "Where _is _your mother, Naminé? Is she dead?" His face sympathetic, Seifer looked sincere in his inquiry, but Naminé knew better. She flushed red with anger and humiliation, but bit her tongue, hard, to keep from lashing out at him. She could taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. Fuu giggled behind her hand sarcastically as Naminé ignored Seifer and continued reaching for her artpad, and Vivi and Rai snickered. "Is she dead?" Seifer asked again, his voice soft, but his smirk showed through, breaking Naminé's resolution.

"_Shut up!_" she shouted. "Just shut up! Stay out of it! Leave me alone!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Please, just stop bothering me. Leave me alone."

Seifer held his hands up in a placating gesture, undermined by his smirk, and merely shrugged.

"All you had to do was ask, Clair." Bored with mocking her, he tossed her sketchpad back; it purposely fell onto the ground, and not into her hands. Naminé glared at him and picked it up, hugging it to her chest protectively, not caring that the dirt had gotten onto her clothes once more.

"It's _Naminé_," she said through gritted teeth. Attempting to take deep breaths silently, Naminé tried to calm herself down before she did something she'd regret.

"Hey. What's going on?" asked a familiar, friendly voice. Naminé looked up to see Kairi walk over to them, with a brunette girl and a raven-haired teen, two friends of hers, in tow. "Seifer, are you harassing her?" The blond grinned.

"Wouldn't _dream _of harassing the Nobody Girl. I'd be too scared that she'd set her _Dragoons _and _Snipers _onto me!" Fuu, Rai, and Vivi laughed at his teasing, prompting Kairi to cross her arms and step up.

"Back off, Seifer." Selphie, the brunette, and Yuffie, the girl with ebony hair, mimicked Kairi's actions in their own ways, and ordered the three followers to stop laughing.

"Or what?" he challenged. Kairi ignored him and turned to Naminé, who had regained her cool and was staring at the cover of her book silently, chewing on her bottom lip.

"We were going to go to Aerith's to listen to some music and buy flowers; d'you want to come?" Kairi smiled, reaching a hand out to Naminé. But when Kairi said "music", Naminé paled visibly, turning her a shade lighter than a ghost.

"_Music?_" Naminé groaned, hitting her forehead with her palm. "_The recital!_ Oh my gosh, Cid's going to _kill _me! Sorry, Kairi, I'd love to go, but I need to leave!"

Grabbing her satchel and notebook, Naminé ran off, back to her house, followed by the cruel laughter of the teens chasing after her.

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><p><strong>*This chapter has been rewritten and revised to fix the plot and errors.<strong>

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, just a brief explanation here: **

**- In this story, Nobodies are somewhat similar to faeries. They're a separate race of beings, just like the Heartless. (I did say this was Fantasy~) If you lose your heart, and you have a strong will, you can become a Nobody (same as how if you're bitten by a REAL vampire (I'm glaring at you, Sparkles), you transform into one if you survive). **

**- The town is called "Twilight Town," but really, it's a mix of the Little Town in Beauty and the Beast, Destiny Islands, and Twilight Town. Naminé's house is Belle's house, but I think the setting similarities end there ^^;**

**Alright. See that button down there? Titled "Review"? It's begging to be pushed! So if you liked or disliked something, please let me know! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Opening A/N: Wow, I'm so glad so many people like this story! That's awesome :D  
>Shoutouts and thanks to: WeDidItForTheDead, as always; Obsidian Rush; xXYukiShiroXx; Dancelillydance; Rosaline Riddle; and Maria Starlight.<br>**

**Before you read this third chapter, please go back and reread Chapter 2: I've edited some things, and some elements have ****changed, so please, to avoid confusion, go back and reread it... unless of course, you'd rather not ^^;**

** (Perhaps I should apologize? I'm sorry for the inconvenience). Also, one more thing: should I name the chapters? To give you somewhat of an idea of what it'll contain? I won't know your opinions unless you tell me. Anon is fine :) **

**Thank you for reading (and thank you for clicking that link!), and I hope you enjoy! (Oh, and if the formatting's a bit weird, I didn't mean for it to be. Sorry.)  
><strong>

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><p>Naminé clasped her hands, head bowed down, her blonde hair in her eyes, as she listened to Cid scold her.<p>

"Just _what _are we going to do with you, young lady? _All _I asked was that you be here on time! I went to wake you up in the morning and found _Alice_, in your bed, who had to do your chores for you! Why did you even switch sides? I have enough trouble telling the difference between you when I can't see your faces! And _where _were you this morning? I've been searching high and low for you! Because of your lateness, the morning recital was _canceled_. Now you'll have to wait another week to audition!"

"A week's not that long, Cid!" Naminé protested defensively. Cid shook his head, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"You're _missing_ the _point_, Naminé! Don't you want to enter the Troupe?" The younger blonde looked shocked.

"I _do!_ I really do! The time just... slipped my mind." Naminé smiled sheepishly, hoping to soften Cid's mood. It worked; not as well as she would have liked, but still, it worked. Cid rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"You say you want to enter, and then you skip recital and say the time slipped your mind..." He sighed. Naminé looked back at the parlor floor; she had never noticed such interesting lines in the wood. "I just don't know what we're going to do with you. This _has _to stop! And I've asked you before to not wander off on your own without telling anybody, Naminé. What if a Heartless got you?" Naminé hugged herself uncomfortably; she knew Cid was only looking out for her, as was his duty, but it still irked her slightly. She didn't enjoy being chastised; neither did she enjoy Cid's overprotectiveness or prejudice against the Heartless.

"They're not as bad as you say! They're almost... cute." Cid sighed in frustrated vexation.

"Namine, they say a Heartless came and kidnapped a baby this morning! What if that was _you_ they kidnapped, while you were out gallivanting Gaia knows where? No one would have known what happened!" Naminé crossed her arms, a stubborn look on her face.

"There weren't any Heartless in the forest, nor did I see any on the way to––" Naminé's sky-hued eyes widened at her mistake; she gasped, as her hands flew to her mouth, as though to take back the words that had slipped out. Cid glowered at her, truly angry now; his voice rose a few decibels and he waved his hand in exasperation.

"You were in the _forest? _I warned you not to go there! You deliberately disobeyed me! Naminé, that place is _swarming _with Heartless!" It didn't matter how "cute" they looked to her; all he wanted was her safe. Naminé glared back, defensive and determined.

"I'm sixteen; my birthday's in six days! And the Nobodies keep the Heartless away! I didn't see a _single _one." It slipped her mind that she had seen a baby Screwdriver at the town fountain, but still, a little white lie couldn't hurt. Cid jabbed the air before her with his finger.

"_Don't _you go making up stories to me, young lady!" The girl looked affronted, and protested his statement.

"But I'm _not!_"

"That's _enough!_ Go to your room, Naminé. Just... that's enough." Cid turned away from her, and covered his eyes with his hand, taking a deep breath to let out his frustration at her stubbornness. Naminé's lower lip trembled, and her eyes prickled with stinging, hot tears. Burying her face in her hands, she let escape a single sob before she ran up the stairs to her room, slamming the door. Cid turned around just in time to see her disappear into the girls' room, and groaned in defeat. Turning to face the living room, he walked over to the tall man in black leaning against the door frame.

"Do you, er, think I was... too hard on her?" he asked the other. The man cocked his head to the side, as if thinking, then nodded briefly at the long, bandaged sword in his hands.

"A little, yeah." He turned to look at Cid, and shrugged with his words. He had bright blue eyes as well, along with blond hair a shade lighter than Cid's, but was not related to the man. Cid sighed and sat down in front of the man, pouring himself a cup of coffee on the low table.

"I just want her to be safe; she's too naïve about the world, and I don't want her to get hurt." He took a sip of the bitter beverage. "And it wouldn't hurt if she'd stop talking about Nobodies as if they were real," he said as an afterthought. The blond man shrugged again.

"She's a kid; let her imagination run free for a few years yet. After all, in a few years she'll either get married or put to work, and won't be so naïve anymore. You're only young once." Cid nodded.

"I know, Cloud; I know. But I promised her mother I'd take care of Naminé..." Cloud nodded sagely, and continued staring at his bandaged weapon. The two sat in silence for some time, before Cid looked up at the ceiling apologetically, hoping against hope that Naminé wasn't too upset with him. 

The girl in question had thrown herself onto her bed after slamming the door shut, sobbing quietly. She buried her head in her pillow to muffle the cries, throat burning and eyes swollen, and curled herself up into a little ball, much like the Dragoon had.

"Naminé...?" asked a tentative voice. The blonde ignored it; or perhaps she merely couldn't hear it. "Naminé?" the voice asked again. Sniffling, Naminé looked up, to see her sister gently reach her hand out to her, softly petting her shoulder. "Are you... alright?"

Smiling through her tears at her younger sister's concern for her, Naminé sniffled and nodded, hugging her sibling close, and gently squeezing her free hand.

"I'm fine," she whispered. "I'm fine."

* * *

><p>There was a soft knock on Alice and Naminé's bedroom door. Alice, having left hours ago to go play with her friends, could not answer, and Naminé, busy staring at her treasured scrapbook sitting in her lap, did not care to. The door creaked as Cid pushed it open, stepping quietly into the half-cluttered room. He walked up to Naminé, who did not acknowledge his presence, and held out the plate of food in his hand.<p>

"Hey. I brought you some striped hot pie, in case you were hungry." The blonde shrugged, prompting Cid to place the plate onto the desk beside her bed. Sitting down next to her, he brushed a hand through her long, fair hair as she continued to stare at the pictures in her scrapbook.

"I'm really silly... aren't I?" asked Naminé softly as she turned the page; a picture she had drawn of two faceless adults, holding hands with a blonde child, and waving at the viewer, appeared on the next page. Cid looked shocked, and hugged the girl close to him gently, squeezing her lightly, soothingly.

"No..." Naminé glanced at him from out of the corner of her eye skeptically. Cid relented.

"Alright, maybe a little." The blonde's look did not waver. Cid sighed.

"Maybe a lot more than a little." His face rearranged itself into an upside-down smirk, a halfway frown. "I shouldn't have yelled at you." Naminé shrugged again.

"It's alright. It's your job." She closed the book with a dull _thud_, and hugged it close to her chest, pulling her legs in close to her. Cid exhaled deeply.

"Yeah, well... I guess if you word it like that..." Naminé smiled sadly, and traced the worn, soft pages of the book with her pale fingertips.

"Yeah... I'm sorry I didn't listen to you... I didn't mean to forget," she said, her voice wavering as the first pinpricks of tears wet her eyes. Without warning, she whirled around and hugged Cid tightly, apologetically, burying her face in his broad chest. Cid hugged her in return, rubbing her back comfortingly.

"Shh, shh," he said softly. "It's alright. I was just worried about you." Naminé sniffled weakly. Cid shifted his position on the bed, and looked at the blonde. "You seemed a bit upset before I scolded you. Did something... happen?" Naminé nodded. "Do you want to tell me about it?" She made a gesture halfway between a yes and a no. Squirming, she turned around so that her back was against her guardian's middle.

"I went to town this morning... to see Kairi. We talked..." she trailed off. There was a pause as Cid silently asked her to elaborate, or continue. "And then I walked around town, and ran into Seifer. He and his cronies teased me, so I yelled at him... just a little."

"You... yelled, at him?" A blond eyebrow rose as Cid took in this odd bit of information. Naminé almost never yelled, unless she was truly distressed or angry. "Naminé, you shouldn't––"

"They called me Nobody Girl. Seifer made fun of mother's death. Some women talked about me behind my back. And Kairi said that I was too weird for a boyfriend. They only like me because I'm her friend. The townspeople treat me differently. They think I'm crazy." Cid stiffened slightly at the dread 'b' word, and knew from experience how bad boys could be, but smiled sympathetically down at her and rubbed her arm with the pad of his thumb.

"They just don't know what to say. _I_, for one, don't think you're crazy." Naminé blew the hair out of her eyes and briefly laughed sarcastically. She watched the glass mobile hanging near her window reflect translucent colours of blue, orange, and green in shapes of hearts and stars as she replied.

"So you believe me when I talk about Nobodies?" Cid tilted his head.

"I never said that." The girl laughed again, and nodded.

"Yeah... see?" She smiled softly to herself, and reached for the slice of pie sitting forgotten on her desk, and, picking up the sticky pastry with her fingers, took a small bite out of it. Cid rested his chin on her head thoughtfully as she ate.

"You know, Cloud stopped by today." Naminé looked up with her eyes in surprise.

"Really? Why?" Cid shrugged, and leaned back, an awkward position since his legs were still dangling off of the bed.

"He was just in town... He asked how you were, and left a gift for you." She smiled.

"What is it? Or won't you tell me?" The blond man smiled as well.

"He left you new paints and powders from Hollow Bastion. One packet has metallic shimmer in it." Naminé gasped and arched her back, to stare at Cid upside-down.

"_No way!_" she breathed. It would be too cruel of a prank to be a lie. Cid shrugged.

"It's on the table downstairs," he commented. "You can open it after you finish your chores." The blonde girl grinned and nodded, placing the half-eaten pie slice back onto the plate, and jumped off the bed, brushing flakes off of her slightly dirtied dress.

"Thank you! I'll get straight to––" She faltered, watching Cid awkwardly scratch the back of his head as she turned around, and give her a half-smile. He sighed; he was never really good at parenting, or at apologizing. Alice was easy to father because she was so sweet and obedient, and they never fought or argued, but Naminé had a spirit like her mother's, and it was proving to be difficult. Cid looked back at Naminé and made a vague gesture with his hand.

"Ya know... if you wanted, after your chores... you could also work on building the Glider with me."

"Really?" The man nodded once.

"Yeah." Naminé walked over to him and hugged him briefly.

"...I'd like that," she said softly, and squeezed just a bit tighter. "You're the best, Cid." She let go, and, humming softly to herself, left the room, leaving it open just a crack behind her. Cid watched her leave silently, and shook his head.

"You're more like your mother than you know," he said to nothing in particular; perhaps the empty air. "Just don't go vanishing like she did."

* * *

><p>Naminé hummed to herself as she brushed Alice's cat's (Dinah, her name was) long fur free from the nettles she had fallen in. He tawny brown fur was tangled and matted, making it a bit frustrating for the blonde teen to pick out the haired leaves. A particularly tough one was caught in the nape of Dinah's neck, and Naminé, giving up on using the brush, picked it out with her pale hand. The stinging hairs pricked her skin.<p>

"_Ouch_," she breathed, and sucked on her index finger. The kitten let out a meow as though laughing at her. Naminé rolled her eyes. "Oh, quiet. It's only because Alice is with Tidus that I'm doing this for you," she said with a smile. Dinah rolled her shoulders in a cat-shrug, and stalked off, seemingly offended at Naminé's words. "You're welcome!" she called out after her. Dinah disappeared into the cellar haughtily, flicking her cotton-tipped tail in reply. The girl smiled softly, and leaned backwards until she fell, sprawled in the grass, and stared up at the fair sky quietly. Cid had gone out to fetch more supplies for the Glider, and would not return for another half hour.

Naminé Clair de Lune Foudre laid like that for nearly ten minutes when a sound between a hiss and a click caught her attention. Casting a fleeting look at the sound, her face broke into a grin as she saw a crew of Assassins shuffling her way. Turning to lean on her elbow, she held out a small hand towards the largest of the Assassins. It made a clicking, rattling noise thrice and whuffled to her, followed by the three others of the crew. The artist held a delicate, white finger to her lips as soon as the Assassins gathered by her.

Standing up (somewhat awkwardly, as her legs had fallen asleep), she led the four Nobodies through the ajar door, through the parlor, up the stairs, and into her room, where on her bed lay the tan duffel bag, innocently lying opened. Naminé reached in, rummaged about a little as the Assassins sniffed at the drawings hung up on the walls, and muttered a quiet, "Aha!" as she found the paper packages of raw meat. Undoing the twine string wrapped around, she took out the somewhat-fresh Cockatrice and Wild Rat meats and tossed it to the Assassins. Immediately, the three biggest Nobodies began fighting (albeit a little playfully) for the pieces, knocking the smallest Nobody out of the way.

Naminé giggled and took out another piece, this time one that looked like it came from a Chippirabbit, judging by the spare strands of hair sticking to the muscle. Holding the slimy piece of meat in her palm, she gestured towards the youngest Assassin; it fluttered towards her, shifting its wing-like, armored arms, and ate the food out of her hand. The sharp teeth grazed her skin, breaking it in several places, but Naminé bit her lip and said nothing, stroking the head of the creature soothingly. She fed the three others more pieces of meat from the other parcels (she had five in all), leaving two unopened, when there was a thunderous crash from downstairs. Startled, Naminé jumped as the Assassins darted to the window, hopped down, and vanished into the forest, all without even so much as a goodbye.

Gathering up the parcels and stuffing the trash into the rubbish bin, Naminé sighed as she wiped the reddish juice from her hands with a light green handkerchief. She walked over to the door and looked down at the parlor from the second-floor landing.

"Cid?" she asked, only ninety-nine percent sure that it was.

"No, Naminé: Tinker Bell," came the sarcastic reply. The artist grinned, and dashed downstairs to see Cid next to a broken chair, with a large bundle of junk and broken parts scattered on the floor in large bundles. The blonde stifled a giggle.

"How did it break?" she asked innocently, gesturing towards the chair. Cid scowled halfheartedly, and shook his head.

"...You don't need to know. Here, take these downstairs." Nodding, the young girl took the bundles one at a time and transported them to the cellar (nearly tripping over the napping Dinah twice), where, deep in the corner and hidden underneath a worn, grey blanket, stood the unfinished Glider.

It was a beautiful vehicle in Naminé's opinion, even though it was barely halfway finished: it was a Sidecar Glider, with a motorcycle-like body with two pointed prongs in front, with a standing pad for a passenger to the side. It could hover up to three feet off of the ground, and was as fast as a chocobo. Or at least, when it was finished, it would be. It still needed the insides: gears, bolts, another levitation force field generator from Hollow Bastion (if Cloud could secure one from the technological capitol), as well as a fresh coat of paint.

Cid came walking down the stairs with a slight limp, but Naminé pretended not to notice as he came over, inspecting the bundles of metal and twine.

"Can we use any of these, d'ya think?" he asked, chewing on a new, long toothpick; the old one snapped during the crash. Naminé picked through the spare parts and examined each one with careful scrutiny. She was thrilled that Cid was giving her as much rein as he was, even going so far as to allow her to build most of the Glider (after he had finished the frame), and wanted to do a good job.

_He must really feel sorry for yelling at me_, she thought, with a slight remorseful hint. If she hadn't worried him, nor run off to the forest, she could be in the Troupe by now, and possibly be preparing to perform for Governor Ansem's birthday next month. _But then again_, she thought with a giggle, _if I hadn't done that, he wouldn't have yelled at me, and wouldn't have felt bad, and wouldn't have let me work on it. So I guess it was good, after all. _

"This one's good!" she called out, holding up a relatively rust-less gear. Walking over, Cid squinted it before grinning and giving Naminé a thumbs-up.

"Yep, you're right; what about this one?" he asked, raising a strange-looking bit of equipment, long and silver, shaped like a rocket attached to a tripod. The blonde ran her hand over it, winced once from the slight sting of the teeth marks from earlier, and nodded.

"It looks good."

So they went, back and forth, checking through the pile of junk (which turned out to be more useful parts than rubbish after all), and discarding the excess and broken parts. After an hour or so, they finished all of the bundles, and Cid had hauled the real junk into a large box for Cloud to pick up during his next visit. The other blond was a strange and stoic man, though not unkind, and often held complicated discussions with the engineer behind closed doors, and after he thought the girls were in bed. He held a certain air about him, and Naminé was both awed and a little bit scared of the man: there was no doubt how excellent his fighting skills were, and she was sure he'd fought in battles in the Outer Kingdoms.

"_Holy Gaia..._" muttered Cid underneath his breath. "I've left the assembly manual for these parts at Aerith's..." Naminé looked up from her sketches of the Glider design, midway through drawing a prototype for a shield dome, and cocked her head.

"I could go get it," she offered. Cid looked up from underneath the Glider and glanced outside, noting the sun's position, before giving her a long look, clearly and silently worried for her safety among the possible and slight chance of Heartless.

"You'll be sure to stay safe?" The artist set down her sketchpad, folded her hands, and nodded once, remembering their earlier disagreement.

"Promise," Naminé said with a smile.

* * *

><p>It was still fair weather outside as Naminé emerged, oil streaks and dust on her dress as well. Breathing deeply, she let the fresh air fill her lungs as she walked to the town, cheerful and quietly blithe. Aerith's house was a little far from hers, at least fifteen minutes' walk, but thinking over ideas to draw helped pass the time quickly, and she reached the red-haired woman's house before she knew it.<p>

As Aerith sold flowers she grew and cultivated, her house had a wagon in front of it, with bouquets upon bouquets of blooms placed within. The light, springy scent of the flowers filled the blonde's nostrils pleasantly, and she smiled as she pulled on the bell-cord. Aerith answered the door not a moment later, humming softly to herself.

"Naminé, what a pleasant surprise! Come in, come in," she gestured, smiling. "How are you? Would you like some tea?" Naminé clasped her hands behind her and bowed slightly to the side, nodding and smiling as well.

"I'm fine, thank you. And yes please, Miss Gainsborough." Aerith sighed comically and shook her head.

"I _told _you, it's Aerith! Jasmine or Nightshade?" she asked, offering Naminé two cups of tea. The blonde ducked her head in embarrassment, accepting the Jasmine tea.

"I'm sorry... Aerith." The woman smiled gently, sipping her black tea. Running a hand through the bangs of her mahogany hair and out of her eyes, she looked curiously at the artist.

"It's alright. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?" Naminé set down her white, gold-rimmed teacup and looked up.

"Cid asked me to pick up the manual for some parts he picked up today, but I also wanted to say hi..." There was a pause before the woman began laughing, a light, airy sound, one that quickly put one at ease.

"Ah yes, he did leave it here. I was wondering what it was, but I couldn't read it. It had much too many numbers and letters in it to make any sense to me. Here, you should probably take it before either of us forget." She stood, soon followed by Naminé, and led her to the living room next to the kitchen they were just in. Sitting on a blue armchair and reading a book upside-down sat a tall boy with thick, midnight blue spikes for hair. As Aerith retrieved the manual from the table and handed it to the artist, the boy looked up and smiled a brilliant smile, instantly lighting up the room with his cheerful attitude.

"Hey, Naminé!" he greeted; "Haven't seen _you _in a while. How've you been?" Naminé hooked back strands of blonde hair from her face and behind her ear as she answered the handsome eighteen-year-old slightly nervously.

"I've been fine, Zack; what about you?" Zack grinned and set down the book, tugging a lock of indigo hair before crossing his arms behind his head.

"I've been awesome! I'm reading this really long book, _Blank Points_, and it's really interesting––"

"––except you've only been pretending to read it since you heard Aqua liked it, and heard the summary from Terra, right?" Aerith said with a soft laugh. Zack's face fell comically.

"What? How do you know?" Naminé giggled behind her hand.

"You were reading it upside-down." Immediately, Zack looked at the embossed cover of the novel, and his clear blue eyes widened in dismay as he saw that Aerith and Naminé were right. Snapping his fingers, he grinned with a shrug as he changed the subject.

"So. Seen any Nobodies lately?" Naminé blushed darkly, the heat rising to her face, and she bowed her head, thinking he was making fun of her like the others, but looked back up at Zack's next words. "I found a nest of Creepers the other day. Could barely see 'em, but they were there. They were on the roof of the Clock Tower, did you see?" The artist nearly dropped the thin paper book in shock at Zack's casual comments. There was no way he was being serious; he had to be messing with her head.

"You're kidding." It was less a question and more a statement of disbelief. Zack shrugged indifferently.

"If you don't believe me, you can go check." He fought to keep from comparing her to a startled Chocobo, what with her wide blue eyes and stunned expression.

"I know there's a Creeper nest up there; but how would you know? I thought only I... No one else... They walk by Snipers and Cores and don't even glance twice!" Aerith gently placed her hands on the young girl's shoulders.

"Some people just like to pretend they never saw things out-of-the-ordinary. They like to live in their own little world, in the reality they're used to." The artist sank into an armchair nearby, the same colour as Zack's (not noticing his attempts to keep from laughing), and took a deep breath, calming herself.

"So this isn't a joke. You really believe me." Aerith and Zack both grinned, with the latter just barely keeping himself in check.

"Of _course_ we believe you. We just don't see them as often as you." The blonde nodded slowly, drinking in the huge news, and, after a moment of silence, began laughing. She didn't giggle, she didn't snicker; she began laughing so hard that tears came out of her eyes and her middle ached, prompting surprised laughter from the two others as well.

It felt good to laugh, to laugh so hard and just live in the moment. Naminé had not done something so stress-draining in a while.

After the three's mirth had died down, Naminé took her leave, noticing how Zack still had the book upside-down, and, leaving the house, saw three Berserkers quietly tromping around with their large, cylindrical feet, carrying bundles of colourful flowers in their huge, grey, gauntlet-ed black hands and placing them in Aerith's already-full wagon. As the red-haired young woman waved good-bye at Naminé from the door, the lead Berserker Nobody handed the blonde a single stalk of white bellflowers. She took it, bowing politely, and walked off in a way that was almost a skip, but not quite. Holding the flower in one hand and the manual in the other, she made it to the path leading to her house before she met trouble.

"Hello, hello, Naminé," drawled a familiar, cold voice. "Why is it that just _looking _at you ticks me off, I wonder?" Naminé mentally sighed at his rhetoric as Seifer jumped off his perch on the ledge of a balcony and walked towards her, her good mood only slightly dampened.

For the moment, anyways.

"Wow, without your cronies today, Seifer? You must be feeling pretty brave." The blond teen smirked and stood in front of the artist, blocking her way.

"Just got finished killing some Heartless, actually. I think I'm brave enough," he said airily. Only slightly frowning when Naminé's only response was to dodge around him and clench her fists, he began walking backwards to keep up with her. "Nice comeback there, blondie. Silence. Silence is golden, they say... So! Are you going back to your father's? Build some more useless contraptions?" He noticed the flower in her hand, and cocked his head to the side. "That a flower you picked for dear old daddy?"

"You know as well as I do that I was adopted," Naminé stated coldly, continuing to walk towards the doorless gate. Seifer smirked, and crossed his hands behind his head, still walking backwards.

"Oh yes, that's right. Your mother left you on some doorstep, before she went and _died_."

"Shut _up_! That is not true!" Seifer shrugged.

"Of course you'd think that." What happened next, neither expected.

She hit him.

Naminé's fist connected with Seifer's face, square in the nose, though doing nothing more than giving him a slight nosebleed. Seifer's smirk did not quite disappear off his face, only fell slightly, and he raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say, _Is that all you've got? _

Naminé stared at her hand in mortified shock, stunned at her actions, and at the anger that had prompted her to hit him.

"Oh my gosh..." she breathed, as blood continued dripping out of Seifer's nose at a slow pace, splattering on both the pavement and his shoes. Her words were repeated not ten seconds later, this time, from a much higher, happy voice.

"_Oh my GOSH_, Naminé, did you _hit _him?" Kairi, followed by Selphie and Olette, another brunette friend of hers, rushed over to the silently distressed damsel in dirty-white, not noticing her friend's guilt. "_Wow! _I _never _would have––"

"'Course you wouldn't," sneered Seifer, crossing his arms over his chest. "Spoiled brat like you wouldn't have the guts." Kairi glared at him.

"You take that back!" Selphie took a defensive stance, and Olette placed her hands on her hips. Seifer grinned, his nosebleed slowing even further.

"Or what? You'll cry to daddy? Tell him how mean Almasy is?"  
>"I just might!" Kairi looked ready to slap Seifer, when a strangled sob escaped Naminé's throat. Kairi's expression immediately softened, and she placed her arms around Naminé. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I almost forgot about you! Here, let's get you cleaned up; we'll go to my place, and the four of us will celebrate with ice cream! I have a coupon for Scrooge, Huey gave it to me, and we'll have a party, and it'll be so much fun! …Naminé?" The blonde shook her head, keeping her face hidden, bowed, and behind her long bangs.<p>

"I... I need to go home." Turning her back to them, she whispered, "I'm sorry," before running, her blue sandals slightly clacking, on the cobblestone path back to her house. The four stared after her for a moment, before Kairi turned and walked over to Seifer, neatly avoiding the spots of blood, and prodding him in the chest.

"_You_. You be nice to her, _Seifer_," she said with a glare, before flipping her dark auburn hair and walking off with her two friends, back to the center of the town to buy ice cream. Seifer glanced at their backs for only a moment, not noticing (or caring) that the minor nosebleed had stopped, before turning the other direction to stare impassively after Naminé's hastily retreating form.

After she completely vanished from his sight, entering the cellar with the items in her hand, he crouched down, took out a crumpled white napkin from the left pocket of his purple pants, and began silently mopping up the few spots of blood.

Done, he walked away, wondering if Naminé's whispered apology was to her friends, or to him.

* * *

><p><strong>A review would be nice, if you'd like to leave one for me. :)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Wow. I, uh, think I owe everybody an apology for not updating for so long; but I hope the (*cough* exciting! *cough*) next chapter of 111 Falling Petals makes it up to you! **

**Also, I highly recommend that you read my stories in 1/2 format (in the upper right hand corner a little ways below Sign In and Sign Up), as that's how I read my stories; don't feel obliged if you don't want to! ^^;  
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><p>Alice was excited beyond belief when she had heard that the Lantern Festival would be held on Naminé's birthday, in only a few days, and had rushed home as fast as she could to tell her family the news. She found, to her disappointment, that Cid had been called away by Cloud on an urgent errand, but was happy that at least her sister was still home.<p>

Naminé was sitting in their room, and was sketching out pictures of Nobodies again when Alice told her the news. She reacted first with shock, then surprise, and then a shy smile, before asking Alice if she was going to attend.

"Of course!" Alice said happily. "Aren't you?" But Naminé shook her head hesitantly.

"I don't have anyone to go with, and... Seifer and his gang might be there. I don't want to get teased on my birthday." Alice touched her sister's arm gently.

"You could go with me," she suggested, and she looked so hopeful, Naminé couldn't help but agree.

Of course, the Dance wasn't the only thing she was to follow Alice to; it turned out that a few of her friends (and Kairi's friends as well) would be hanging out by the wall today, and had invited the two sisters to come. Naminé was expected to come, and, as she hated to disappoint, had no choice but to go. Changing her clothes into something less paint-splattered and torn and writing a note to Cid just in case he returned while they were gone, Naminé left the house with her sister in less than five minutes, steeling herself for the possible teasing, just in case.

By "a few friends", the young artist had expected perhaps Tidus, Selphie, Yuffie, Kairi, and maybe Sora; what she hadn't expected was an entire welcoming committee-esque group of teens and kids hanging around the wall, waiting for them to arrive. Alice had to push her sister through the gate to get her to move, for Naminé had frozen in shy fright.

"Hey, guys!" the plucky-yet-proper younger sister greeted the others. They looked up at the sudden addressment and immediately their faces burst into smiles as they greeted the two sisters. Kairi moved nearly superhumanly fast from her spot amid admirers and girlfriends to tackle Naminé in a hug.

"Omigosh you _came! _Great job, Alice! Naminé, you won't _believe _how popular you are now, and guess what, the Dance is on your birthday now, and everyone's been talking about ––"

"Let her breathe, Kairi," Riku said with a chuckle, walking up to the slightly breathless blonde and offering his hand. "Hey, Naminé. Not too bruised? Kairi can be a bit... overboard." Naminé shook her head, then took his hand shyly and was lifted up.

"Thanks," she muttered as she brushed dirt and dust off of her clothes. "I'm fine."

"Mmhmm. So." Riku crossed his arms and casually leaned against the wall, smiling at the artist. "I heard – all of us did, actually – you hit that jerk in the face yesterday. Good job; about time somebody took him down a notch." Naminé blanched and quickly shook her head.

"Actually, I ––"

"Yeah, bet he didn't like that at _all_," added Sora to the end of his best friend's statement, inadvertently interrupting his crush. "Three cheers for Naminé!"

"No, I ––"

But the group cut her off, cheering and clapping for the blonde, ignoring her feeble protests and blushing. Yuffie eventually noticed and slipped close by her.

"_Just go with it!_" she advised with a wink, taking care that her whisper was heard by Naminé alone. Sighing, the blonde gave up on protesting and merely focused instead on the moment at hand, and the strangest thing happened. They were cheering _for _her, for something she'd done, and weren't teasing or harassing or whispering about her behind her back, and the feeling of being liked by a great many people was so strange, so new, that Naminé couldn't help but embrace it. The perpetual feeling of loneliness deep inside of her began to melt away, and the young artist no longer felt left out or made fun of. She smiled at the others, and accepted the hugs sent her way, agreeing to Sora's proposal that they all go out for ice cream to celebrate their newest, official addition to their group of friends. Kairi and Olette linked their arms with Naminé's, and led her off to to Scrooge McDuck's Ice Cream Shop, none of the teens noticing the blond young man lurking in the alleyway, with a navy blue tuque covering his fair hair, watching the shy artist. He turned away once Naminé vanished from his somewhat narrow window of view, and vanished, figuratively, into the shadows.

Meanwhile, Kairi had insisted on buying her a Double Crunch with the coupon Huey had given the mayor's daughter, and had decided to treat everyone else to ice cream as well (though at the ice candy's normal prices). Naminé giggled softly to herself as she accepted and ate her ice cream, noticing the curious looks of a few townspeople at the odd parade of tweens and children.

"So Naminé," Kairi began, reclaiming the blonde's attention and clasping her hands under her chin, "The Lantern Festival's on your birthday. Who're you gonna go with, hmm?" Kairi waggled her eyebrows suggestively, making Naminé blush brightly.

"N-no one. I was going to go with Alice..." But the mayor's daughter sighed dramatically and shook her head, in a way that implied how someday, Naminé would see the folly of her decision.

"I've told you already! Sora and Riku are both interested, and almost any boy now will want to take you out! And you're here, deciding to go with your _sister? _I mean, no offense to Alice and all, but Tidus is gonna ask her out, and you don't want to be a third wheel. You need to find yourself a guy, Nami!" Olette, Yuffie, and Selphie overheard, and began giggling like silly girls (which was what they were, almost essentially), glancing over their shoulders at the other tables, where the boys were sitting. Naminé rolled her eyes.

"I _told _you, I don't need a boyfriend," she said, but it was a halfhearted attempt, and now that she was popular and no longer the town's joke, perhaps she did have a chance... Riku _was _undeniably handsome, and Sora was unmistakably funny and kind, but she had no idea who she liked better, not really knowing them much in the first place. Kairi grinned stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Shut up and eat your ice cream. You'll want one soon enough!"

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><p>Naminé never knew that hanging out with such a group of friends could be quite so exhausting. What with cheering for her sister as Tidus knelt down on one knee to ask her out, with a daisy in hand (Alice, of course, had said yes immediately), reluctantly retelling how she'd punched Seifer, and being shocked herself as three boys, including Sora, asked her to the dance, she found herself quite drained of energy as she walked back home in a cheerful mood, the first time in a week or so. Sora asking her out hadn't really surprised her, but still, from theory to real life was a surprising shift in perspective, and the blonde had tactfully decided to consider a date, but not choose anyone yet. She barely knew anyone very well, save for Kairi and perhaps Yuffie.<p>

But still, talking with her new friends and hanging out with them left her in a good sort of tired mood, and finding Cid in the house, having returned from his errand with Cloud, only raised her happiness. She told him the news (wisely leaving out what she'd _done _to warrant such praise, knowing he'd disapprove) and hugged him tightly, receiving a hug in return; Cid, seeing how tired she was, told her to go upstairs and take a nap, promising that they'd work on the Glider that night as well. Naminé agreed, and climbed up the stairs to her room; almost the moment she flopped down upon her bed, her eyes fluttered closed and she fell into a deep sleep.

~x~

Naminé Clair de Lune Foudre awoke to the delicious aroma of food wafting in through the door she'd left ajar hours before. Her nose twitched, and her eyebrows furrowed –– was this a dream? She couldn't remember the last time their house was filled with such a wonderful smell of food, for Cid's cooking had a tendency to either blow up or burn, and Alice and Naminé's cooking was normal; not mouthwatering like the _something _that was being made for dinner.

_When in doubt, follow your nose_, the artist thought to herself, and she swung her legs over, ran a hand through her hair, and stood, walking out of the room to see what on earth was going on in the kitchen. What she found, she found to her great surprise (causing her to wonder just exactly how many surprises she'd have that day, and if this all was to make up for the fairly normal life she'd led for a while): Cid, wearing a ludicrous pink apron that he'd no doubt borrowed from Alice, was in the kitchen and _cooking_, with absolutely no scorch marks or burns anywhere.

"Cid?"

The man nearly jumped at her voice, whirled around to look at her, and widened his eyes.

"Naminé! You're up already?" He glanced at the clock as Naminé smiled.

"Y-yeah. What's... going on?" Suddenly, a lithe form blocked her way as Zack moved in front of her to usher her out of the kitchen.

"Hey, kiddo. Sorry, but no admittance allowed!" Naminé furrowed her eyebrows again and nervously laughed.

"But ––" She _lived _here; and what was Zack doing there anyway? She scowled at the nickname, prompting the young adult to laugh.

"Like I said, sorry kiddo. Why don't we go work on that Glider or something while we wait for dinner? C'mon, Alice is in the garden, and we could go hang out with her if you wanted!" He tousled her slight bed-hair and grinned mischievously. Naminé glared halfheartedly at him.

"Sure, but I'm _not _'Kiddo'. I'm almost sixteen, Zack!" He chuckled.

"I know, so that means I need to cram in all the '_kiddo_''s I can before you grow up!" Naminé stuck her tongue out at him and was led away, outside, into the garden. As she left, Cid peered curiously out to check to see if she was gone. Nodding, satisfied with what he saw, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as he returned to cooking.

"Whew! Close call," he said, stirring the contents of the large bowl. Cloud, who was busy chopping fruit, nodded.

"Don't worry. Zack can keep her busy. How long until that cake batter's finished?"

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><p>The garden was nice in the afternoon, with a perfect view of the sun beginning its daily descent, and the light smell of grass and flowers filling one's nose. Zack and Naminé found Alice brushing Dinah's fur, reciting lessons to herself as she did so; once they made their presence known, the younger blonde quickly discarded reciting in favour of talking with her sister and Zack. It wasn't often that the boy –– young man, now –– was able to visit them, and when he did, there were usually gifts and a birthday involved; but Alice was in on the plan, and had been told to act as though Naminé was not the only one who had no idea of what was going on.<p>

"Zack!" Alice nearly tackled him with a hug (much to Dinah's irritation, for her fur had been in mid-brush). "When did you get here?"

The raven-haired teen gave a laugh and a shrug. "Just a few minutes ago, Alice. D'you miss me?" Unbeknownst to them, Naminé caught the subtle wink he sent her sister's way, and smirked suspiciously. There _was _something going on –– but what? Then something went off in Naminé's head.

"Wait –– Zack, you know Alice is younger than me, right?" Zack nodded.

"Yep." The artist scowled playfully and crossed her arms.

"So why am _I _'Kiddo'?"

There was a silent pause, broken by Dinah's still-irritated meow, and followed by Zack's and Alice's light laughter.

"Well, you see, Alice and I made a deal..." But Zack adamantly refused to say anything more on the subject, despite Naminé's pleas and tickles.

"Oh!" Alice, shaken with laughter, could not question her sister's sudden exclamation, and Zack had no time to ask. "Zack, can we go into the forest? We'll only be a little while, but there's a clearing inside, where the most beautiful bell flowers and dandelions are; may we pick them?" She crossed her fingers behind her back for luck, and smiled when Zack nodded after a moment of consideration.

"Yeah, sure, why not? Will Nobodies be there?" he added with a less-subtle wink. Naminé exaggeratedly nodded once.

"Of course!" Alice helped her sister off of Zack (for her legs had gone numb) as the young adult promised to be back soon, leaving only to ask Cid for his permission (and probably how much longer the food would take, as he was very hungry). As soon as he was safely indoors, Naminé quickly turned to Alice.

"What was the deal?" Alice picked up Dinah and giggled, softly stroking her fur as she answered.

"I told him," she whispered, "that if he didn't stop, I'd tell Aqua that he was too much of a chickenwuss to ask her to the dance, and asked me to ask her for him instead. Oh, and also, that he's only been pretending to read that book he has in order to impress her!" Naminé gaped at her sister.

"_No way!_"

"_Yes _way, if you please," Alice countered, and the two dissolved into one more bout of laughter, just moments before Zack returned. He glanced at the sun.

"Your father says it's alright, 's long as we're back in a half-hour." He lowered his voice: "Are you going to see your friends? If Alice knows where the clearing is, you can split up." The self-proclaimed Heiress nodded.

"She knows," she whispered back, "and the Nobodies are in a different clearing, one by the river –– "

"Why are we whispering?" Alice added in a hushed voice. "No one's out here except us!" Zack nodded.

"You're absolutely right, Alice, but we should get going; we've only twenty-nine minutes and –– "

"Let's just go."

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><p>Upon entering the forest, Zack, Alice, and Naminé parted ways, with the two turning left and Naminé heading right. She needed to talk to her other friends, the ones who didn't judge, and were there for her longer: the Nobodies. She had a half-hour time allotment with which to converse and talk to them, which was plenty of time; and should she lose track of it, she and Zack had decided on a signal with which to communicate.<p>

She entered her clearing with the paint-splattered shed, and found it quite deserted, but not to worry –– pursing her lips together and whistling a tune the Nobodies she knew knew well, she gave the signal that all was clear. It worked like a charm: almost immediately, Dragoons and Knight Heads, Assassins and Spiders, and a great assortment of other Nobodies peeped out of their hiding places and swarmed all over her, relaying how much they missed her and peering around to see if she had any food. Naminé giggled, helped a tiny Assassin off of her head, and climbed up to the roof of the shack, hugging the Dragoon she'd drawn days before close.

"Oh, I've missed you all, too! But a lot's been happening –– d'you want to hear?" Clicks and shrieks answered her as the Nobodies surrounded the artist, curious and wanting to know more. She petted a Cyclops' head as she was encouraged to share her news. "Well," she said with a smile, "Apparently I'm popular now in town! I don't see _why_, or why they think it was so great I hit Seifer..." A Grappler clicked its approval, and a Dragoon flapped its wings excitedly. Naminé shook her head in protest. "But it's _wrong _to hit people! I didn't mean to do it on purpose, and –– "

The Cyclops chittered at her, causing her to blush darkly. "I am _not _being modest! But anyway... so I'm popular now. And... a lot of people want to be my friends. I know, I know," she added quickly. " That _is _a good thing, but for something like that? I think maybe Kairi said some things..."

"_Khrraaiirhhi_,"a Dragoon exclaimed. "_Khrraaiirhhi!_"

Naminé smiled. "Yes, Kairi... Oh, and guess what. The Lantern Festival is to be on my birthday, and three boys have already asked me out! Isn't that _weird?_" Two Dancers took this opportunity to gracefully land down by the golden-haired girl; one sat behind her, and the other sat by her side. The one behind her was the leader of the group of Dancers living there, and was very fond of the artist; she coaxed Naminé's head down and began stroking her hair. Naminé did not resist.

"Sora asked..." she said softly, then nearly jumped at how much the others reacted. The Dragoons clicked, the Cyclopes chittered, and the Assassins were beside themselves in excitement. A Spider and a Grappler scurried off, coming back with poorly cut, but nonetheless beautiful, flowers in hand for the girl. The Dancers took them and began plaiting her hair, inserting bell flowers and violets here and there to make her look beautiful (not that she wasn't already, in their opinions). The girl sighed laughingly.

"You know, Kairi says Sora, along with Riku –– " Another round of clamour interrupted her. A few of the scout Nobodies in the tightly-knit group of outcasts (not that Naminé knew) would sometimes visit the town to spy, and to steal food now and then, and knew from her conversation and the townspeople's who Sora and Riku were. The Dancers thought Riku was better for their human 'child', but the Assassins and Knight Heads favoured Sora. Naminé shook her head, waiting for her friends to settle down before she continued.

"Kairi said that they like me... but I've never really talked to either Riku _or _Sora much, so I don't know who they are. I mean, I _know _who they are, but I don't know what kinds of people they might be... and I'm supposed to go to the dance with one of them... Riku hasn't asked yet, though. I wonder if he –– " But what she wondered the Nobodies would not know, for just then, Zack's signal (an obnoxious crowing) was heard, making the girl (and a few younger Nobodies) jump with surprise. The Dancers' perpetual, eerie grins twitched downwards in a scowl, and they tugged Naminé back down by her hair –– plaiting hair without fingers was difficult enough, but adding flowers with which to decorate the braid was still harder, and they would _not _let Naminé go without finishing what they started.

"H-hey!" Still, the Dancers adamantly refused to let her go just yet: they were almost done, and if she would _just _be patient...

Another crowing sound was heard throughout the forest, and the lead Dancer took off the white band tying its own pink braid to finish Naminé's new look; finally letting the girl up, the two Dancers sat back as Naminé took in a deep breath to return Zack's signal, so that he wouldn't worry about her.

"_Thank you_," she whispered, and smiled as the two hugged her –– as did the rest of the Nobodies still on the roof. "_Oof!_" Naminé attempted to hug all of them back, and settled for giving tiny kisses to the heads of those she couldn't hug. Repeating her voice of thanks, Naminé climbed down off of the roof, made sure she hadn't left anything behind (out of habit only, for she hadn't brought anything really), and dashed through the forest and to the clearing, making sure that the Dancers' hard work was not in vain.

She found Zack and Alice heading out of the forest soon enough, with the younger one wearing a crown of interwoven flowers, and called out their names. "Zack! Alice!"

Alice turned around first, smiling as she heard her sister's voice –– but then her blue eyes turned wide, and she dashed over to her sister excitedly.

"Naminé! What did you do to your _hair? _It looks _gorgeous!_"

"What?" Alice darted behind her sister to stare at her sister's flower-braided hair in awe, stroking it softly and feeling very slightly envious. Zack, after recovering from the shock of seeing Naminé's hair looking like one of the old faerie tale illustrations, waved at them and jogged over.

"Whoa, Nams, didn't know they had a hair-dresser Nobody too!" he joked. Naminé blushed darkly and looked down.

"The Dancers did this..."

"And it's _beautiful_," Alice added. "Oh! We have to show Cid and Cloud! Dinah as well! Come _on!_" she said, and tugged her sister's hand. Zack nodded, interrupting Naminé's potential question of _Wait, Cloud's here too? _

"We're five minutes late, anyways, so we'd best be going back right around now... And Princess Alice, your hair looks beautiful as well with that crown!"

"Of course he thinks so," Alice whispered to her sister. "_He _made it!"

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><p>Though Dinah couldn't care less about her owner's sister's hair, the look of shock on Cid and Cloud's faces as they returned home was priceless, and they struggled not to show it as they welcomed the trio home.<p>

"Holy Gaia, Nams," Cid said in welcome. "Zack, Alice, you two should start a hair-dressing shop." Zack shook his head and rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah, thanks..." It was probably better _not _to mention that his charge was with Nobodies while they were picking flowers. Cloud allowed a small grin to grace his tired and normally stoic face.

"You look good with flowers in _your _hair too, Zack," he said, pointing out the tiny wreath Alice had snuck onto his head while he gave her a pig-a-back ride back home.

"Huh? What?" Zack's comedic confusion drew out a tiny laugh from both blond men, but soon after Cid ushered them into the washroom to wash up, for dinner was ready and he had no intention of their "amazin' flavour" getting tainted by the taste of dirt and flowers from their hands. After they cleaned up, Cid covered Naminé's eyes with his hands and carefully led her to the dining room, with Zack following suit with Alice. Once there, a mouthwatering aroma flooded their noses, and Cid and Zack removed their hands from the girls' eyes.

"Surprise!"

Naminé and Alice gasped in shock at the sight before them. An assortment of their favourite dishes was laid out in front of them, including baked fish (a rare treat as fish was expensive to buy), star carrot and round corn salad, mashed gourd potatoes, Bannock bread, striped hot pie, rainbow croissants, coffee-milk, and sweet and sour vegetable soup. In the middle was a large, round paopu white cake, with fresh cream, striped apples, and cherry clusters inside, Naminé's favourite cake.

"We figured, what with your birthday in a few days and your new friends in town, we had so much to celebrate that we couldn't wait until the Festival!" Cid said, grinning. "And besides, Cloud was in town again, since we des–– We finished our errands on time; and Aerith had the recipes."

"Everybody, dig in!" crowed Zack, and they all took their seats.

The food was delicious, and the fresh paopu juice (something the girls hadn't had for months) left a familiar, prickly-sweet taste in their mouths. The Bannock bread had bits of dried Banora Whites inside, as well as walnuts and spice, a type the girls had never eaten before, but enjoyed immensely. Alice and Naminé exclaimed their awe at the food, and the men took great pride in it, with Cid grinning in relief that nothing had been burnt or blown up.

"Ain't it amazin', though?" The rhetoric was answered with laughter and nods, and even Cloud loosened up enough to really agree.

Once the group was finished eating dinner (Cid took joy in knowing that there would be enough leftovers to last them a few days, meaning no-one had to cook for a while), Zack called for the cake to be cut. The three men had worked hardest on that, but were forced to use their imaginations as the recipe they had unearthed for it was damaged. Still, the look of delight was usually rare on Naminé's face, and seeing it would be wonderful for all.

"Cut the cake!"

"Alrigh', alrigh', ya lost puppy," Cid muttered in playful reply, and placed a medium slice of the paopu white cake onto Naminé's plate. "Early birthday girl gets the first bite!"

The blonde laughed and cut off a bite with her fork, and placed it into her mouth –– and paused. It wasn't... _bad_, per say, but the taste was a little... _odd_.

"Erm... Yeah, it's good," Naminé said with a weak smile. "Just... did you _bake _the fruit, cream, and batter together?"

"Er... well, the writing was a bit smudged, so we had to guess... Oops?" Zack offered apologetically. Cloud furrowed his eyebrows.

"Does it taste bad?" Naminé quickly shook her head.

"No! No, it really does taste good. Just... a little _different_... But I love it, thank you all!" She smiled brighter, and took another bite. Convinced, Cid cut slices for each of them, beginning with Alice and ending with himself. They all began eating the cake: the youngest blonde struggled not to make a face, and Cid quickly washed his mouthful down with a glass of the coffee-milk.

"Well, there's no denying that it tastes _different_, but hey! 'S the thought that counts!" Everyone laughed, and Cloud discovered that eating the cake with more fresh cream helped better the taste, and so they all heaped the whipped cream onto their cakes.

After dinner and the odd-tasting dessert were a few more presents (for both of the girls), and a bit of time working on the Glider. It was being close to finished, now, only needing the last few inside parts, and everyone began putting their personal touches on it after the three coats of silver and purple spray-paint dried. Cloud painted the wolf emblem he wore on his shoulder guard onto the sidecar platform; Zack drew a smiley face in black ink on the side; Alice painted a white rabbit on the opposite side, while Cid inserted a green gem into the handles.

"For luck," he said. "It was your mother's." Tears welled up in Naminé's eyes, and after they all finished decorating, Cid suggested that they finish for the night and go upstairs, volunteering Cloud to tell them all stories from abroad (receiving a halfheartedly irate glare from the other).

Tales and news from other worlds always fascinated the girls, Naminé especially, for she had always dreamed of being an adventurer like her mother, and even went so far as to collect munny with which to buy a train ticket, or a ship, or armour and lessons in magic. She hadn't much thought about how she would sell her paintings to Setzer if she was gone all the time, but it didn't matter right now, for Cloud was still telling the stories, something he didn't really like to be volunteered for. It took him a while, but gradually he would warm up and even smile when he was talking; he did this most when talking about the world of Hollow Bastion.

Campers and strange men had infiltrated the Bastion, but Cloud and a few friends of his kept them from desecrating and looting the place; it was a tough job, but well worth it in the end. They would also do some spy work (about what, the adults remained understandably but still irritatingly mum), and when they could, a few of them would take supplies and goods from the pirates and return them to whoever needed them. Tifa, a friend of Cloud's, had found the metallic shimmer powder he had given Naminé earlier, knowing that the girl enjoyed painting.

With a few mores stories of battling fearsome Heartless and finding hidden basements, it soon became time for bed for the girls, and they were ushered upstairs with hugs and forehead-kisses goodnight. Naminé was unsure of what to do with her hair, for it had been so lovingly plaited and made-up, but Zack procured a special camera from Cloud's motorcycle and took several photos of the group, of Naminé's hair, and of the cake, making a note to never mix the fruit and cream with the batter "next time". Promising to get the photos developed by Aerith the next day, Zack shooed them off; Alice had great fun undoing the complicated plait and picking out the flowers while Naminé took her bath, giving the white hair-tie to her sister and washing her hair for her. Naminé returned the favour by washing Alice's hair, braiding it for her so that she'd have curls in the morning.

Once the two dried off and pulled on their nightgowns, they went downstairs one last time to say their final good-nights, for they knew well that Cloud would be gone at dawn, and would probably not be able to return for another few months.

A round of hugs and final "Happy early birthday!"'s, Naminé and Alice went upstairs, closed the bedroom door, and simultaneously flopped down onto their beds, whispering to each other a hushed conversation before slowly nodding off, with Alice falling asleep mere moments before Naminé.

A few minutes after the girls went to bed and were soundly asleep, Cloud, Cid, and Zack sat in the living room, discussing odd things the girls knew nothing about (and hopefully never would) deep into the night.

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><p><strong>AN: ((Now, if only I could type this much when _not _under pressure to update...!)) A review would be wonderful, if you'd like to leave me ((or if you don't like me, then the story)) one. **


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